I haven’t bought the jupiter. But I had been to the TVS showroom with the intention to book it and took a test drive of it. I also read the specifications on jupiter and compared it with other scooters. I finally dropped my plan to buy it. I provide the reasons for my decision along with my views on the pluses and minuses of this scooter.
Basically, jupiter is made on the paltform of TVS’s existing scooter Wego. They both have the same engine which is 110 cc air-cooled 4 stroke engine. This engine is reputed in the market for its fuel economy and performance. So the performance and fuel consumption of jupiter isn’t very different from wego. But jupiter’s engine is slightly tuned for better mileage. The two scooters differ in other departments. I am not going to list out the differences between the two, but wish to point out the unique features of jupiter.
Pros
Alloy wheels - which is standard in bikes nowadays. TVS has introduced this in the scooters.
Econometer - which can help guide the rider to attain good fuel economy
Reserve fuel light indication. Helps to judge how long we can travel with the available fuel
Passlight - jupiter is the first scooter to have this
Parking lamps and LED tail lamp First scooter to have LED lamps
Tubeless tyres
External Fuel filling without opening the seat especially helpful in crowed fuel stations
Telescopic front suspension - I guess this is the first scooter to have this
Good mileage 45 to 52
Easy to put the center stand Particularly helpful for ladies
Good amount of leg space and under seat storage
Smooth engine both at low speeds and top speeds
Price In spite of all the new features TVS has bundled into this product, it is still priced cheaper than the Activa which doesn’t have many of them. Price of Activa- 50998, Jupiter - 50747( both are Ex-showroom prices at chennai)
Cons
I could perceive only one drawback in this scooter. It just looks like the Activa, Wego and Maestro. If TVS had launched this scooter before Wego, then it would have been a great launch and a big hit. But now that they already have a successful product in the name of Wego, they could have simply upgraded wego with the features of jupiter or they could have launched a stylish product in the likes of Yamaha Ray. That would have enabled them to offer both a conservative looking and an ultra modern scooter for the customers to choose from. Now I really wonder how the customer could choose between wego and jupiter. Both scooters have similar looks, performance and price. But a sensible buyer should opt for jupiter over wego given the additional features it comes with. I’m not sure whether TVS will continue to sell wego along with jupiter.
So, if somebody is planning to buy their first scooter or to need replace a old depleted scooter with a new one, Jupiter is the best choice among the scooters in the market given the range of new features it offers. But if somebody intends to upgrade their scooter that is not too old with a latest one which is better in performance and appearance, jupiter is not a great choice. Jupiter is neither a very stylish scooter nor a scooter with outstanding performance. It is just an average scooter overall. It is better to retain the existing one and wait for a new scooter to be launched in future. I belong to the second category. My existing Suzuki Access is just 2 years old and I am not inclined to replace it for jupiter.
But this a commendable scooter launch by TVS. This will now force other companies to include more features into their scooters which is good for the customers. Hope this review helps in your buying decision.